Stetson Reporter

"v:.?":'. •;•' -*;y<-!." -, bi^s,;*:^:-: :-i*^^^ Stetson University February 16,1993 Volume 105, Number 16 INSIDE •.- Students fight to keep Winter Term, forum gets results Pages • International Symposium held Feb. 22-23 on .campys Page 4'" • Edwin Omura takes on Pep Band apathy Page 10 Fate of tuition voucher under debate again By Derek Ashworth Campus Life Editor During this year's legislative session in Tallahassee, Florida's private colleges andunversities will support a plan to attract more students to their schools and reverse a" national trend that has seen an increasing number of students select lessexpensiveuniversities-attend prive educators say is putting more costly independent schools on the edge of financial disaster. As parents and students make college selections, national surveys have shown that students are increasingly'making their decisions on the basis of tuition especially in tough economic times. In Florida the state university system has nearly 190,000 students and is expecting an additional 80,000 in the next decade. Yet, private schools contend that with more state money, they could educate about 35,000 of those students. The state's private schools have therefore proposed a plan that they say will not only ease overcrowding in the public university system but also be more helpful to needy students in Florida. Their proposal calls for the following: ♦Increasing tuition at public universities so students pay 50% of the cost. Considering today's rates, the average state tuition would more thandoubleto$3,810. Subsidiesto public schools would be reduced from 75 percentto 50percent which would reduce the state's contribution to $5,914 per student a year to $3,810. . *The savings from these measures would be used to increase the Tuition Voucher given to all college students from Florida attending a private university. However, the increased voucher (from $965 a year presently to an estimated $3,810) would be given only to low- income students. Reaction to the plan from the state's public universities was perhaps best shared by Pieter Swart, legislative director of the Florida Student Association in Tallahassee. Swart lobbies for the students enrolled in the state's nine universities. He declared, "It is preposterous and unconscionable that they (Florida's independent colleges) would even propose this." Peter Armacost, president of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and chairman of the Independent CoEegesand Universities of Florida, countered, "The state university system was established to provide access to all, but it isn't working that way today." Defenders of the proposal have also suggested that the private school's plan better meets the needs of those "who are truly in need, while increasing the tuition of those who can afford to pay." Florida's private school leaders meanwhile recently joinedtheir colleagues in Washington, D.C, for the annual meeting ofthe National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. The Association's President, Richard Rosser, explained their task-to lobby Congress and state legislators to give millions more dollars to private schools. Rosser suggested that if private colleges are to survive and continue savingU. S. taxpayers $ 12 billion annually by educating nearly 3 million students who attend private institutions, increased aid from the federal and state governments is necessary. As he concluded, "We must close the tuition gap." Forum on women in the 90's: Sex, Power, and Politics By Karen J. Beckett News Editor Patricia Ireland, national president ofthe National Organization for Women, Inc. (NOW) will be speaking in the Elizabeth Hall Chapel onFebruary 19 at 12:30 p.m. The topicof her speech will befocusedon "The Political Climate for Women in Washington Today." She will also take part in a workshop being sponsored by the Atlantic Center for the Arts on Feb. 19-20 in Daytona. The workshop deals with the Ethics of Change and is entitled "Women in the 90's: Sex, Power and Politics." There will "be a question and answer session after her speech. First priority will be given to students. Ireland is an activist attorney committed to fighting for women's rights in both the courts and out on the street. Her efforts, which include developing Project Stand Up for Women, have helped to develop political strategies to defend women's rights against anti- abortion extremists, to fight right wing nominations to the Supreme Court, and to create skills development and training programs for NOW chapters and leaders. She has been an advocate of women's rights since 1975 and has worked internationally as well as nationally. She is the strong force behind NOW's Global Feminist Programs which design future strategies and action plans for the empowerment of women everywhere. Before becoming the president of NOW, Ireland was the Executive Vice-President from 1987 to 1991, and was a partner in a Miami law firm where she handled employment discrimination and affirmative action cases. /: '?■'■ •: V ■ s*'.V ' ■■-<■', l . ""'■■. **. .. line ibretson university format, -'marts on Fire,'' neid tins past weekend was a success, according to members of the program committee, (photo by Sean Richter)